Just some fleeting thoughts while watching both the games:
 
The reason why OSU was so successful, at least in the first game,
was:
 
They also had three guys up the middle waiting to play defense, and
Michigan kept trying to pass the puck in.  However, that won't work
against OSU!  They finally started dumping it on Saturday night.
[
Rumor had it if you were standingnear the locker room on Friday night
after the 2nd period (Michigan down 3-1) you could hear Berenson
SCREAMING.
 
I'll trade Askey for Gordon anytime.  Not only is Askey sound with the
fundamentals, but without Shields in goal against a team like OSU, Gordon
is made to look worse (HE isn't that's bad, but still).  My reasoning:
The only time we got really good chances against a team like OSU is
during fast rushes, breaks, etc.  When we set up in their zone, we were
too small to muscle the puck in.  Furthermore, OSU always had 3 guys in
front of the net.  It was like shooting from the point into a brick wall.
However, with SHields in goal, he is a MUCH MUCH better puck handler than
Gordon.  Often times I'm amazed at SHield's laser sharp, hextall type,
passes from the crease all the way out to the blue line, creating a 2
on 2 or even a break away.  Gordon can't do this.  As a result, we had to rush it up
the ice, but we tried to finesse it too much.  At one point, OSU (on friday)
was blocking every single bpass out of the zone by michigan.
 
Plus, we thought it was going to be a cakewalk friday, so we didn't play
hard enough until the 3rd.
 
So, if our time was a bit bigger, va bit more experienced, I thin we would
have manhandled OSU bnoth games.
 
--
Eric Rickin ([log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask])
University of Michigan Class of 1996